Therapy Dog

I chased one of the cats into my college girl owner's room the other day. Wow, she sure has a lot of textbooks. They are all on OT (Occupational Therapy). She graduated this year but is going for another year to get her Masters.

I started wondering. Why can't I go to school with her. I got on the Internet and did some research and discovered dogs can work in therapy too!  One site said about therapy dogs, that they..... 

brighten the days for seniors; special needs adults and children; patients in physical, occupational, speech and cognitive therapies. They encourage children to read. The possibilities are endless. The human/animal interaction can many times open doors, hearts and minds like no human therapist can. 

That sounded great. I like to brighten people's days. I got to visit our elderly neighbor twice already. He is nice. I think he is about 90. He used to own coon hounds. My grandma human is 89. (Don't tell her I told you).

I wanted to pretend I was a real therapy dog so I asked mom to take me along next time she visited one of the people she sometimes helps out. And she did!

We went to see a gentleman who has been in several nursing homes and rehabs recently. He is now living home alone with the aid of visiting nurses. It was a really fun visit.

Mom said I did "Wonderful". I didn't jump up at all.

His name is Bob and he petted me a lot. When mom wasn't looking he even gave me a Ritz cheese cracker to eat. He told us about dogs he used to have and how his dad would always feed all their dogs oatmeal mixed with milk.

He really liked petting me. And I liked it too. 

He was really happy to see me. He said to be sure to come back anytime. He even rode his scooter to the back door when we were leaving so he could wave good bye to me.

I love to use people's feet for a pillow. Getting scratched behind the ears is fun too.

It felt good to make some one's day brighter and a little less lonely. Bob is the first person I visited who isn't family or a close neighbor, so I think I just did my first therapy visit! I will have to talk to my OT owner. I think we could make a great team.